All God's Creatures
by souken
Summary: Even the smallest creature needs comfort when it's hurting. Slight Yukiru


Title: All God's Creatures  
Author: Souken  
Rating: G  
Disclaimer: Standard Disclaimer Apply  
Summary: Even the smallest creature needs comfort when it's hurting. *Slight Yukiru* 

AN: This is dedicated to my rat, Shinji.   
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"I'll get it!" Tohru wiped the flour off her hands and ran to the door. She opened it to find Kisa standing outside, holding a small shoebox. 

"Hello Kisa-chan! It's so good to see you!" 

Kisa blushed a bit and held the box a little tighter to her chest. "Umm....is Yuki here?" She asked in a small voice. 

"Oh yes! Why don't you come in and I'll go get him. I think he's up in his room studying." She closed the door behind Kisa and went to run up the stairs. When she got to Yuki's door, she knocked lightly and waited for him to answer. A couple seconds later the door opened and Yuki peeked out. 

"Do you need anything Tohru-chan?" He asked. 

"Kisa's here and she wants to talk to you." 

"Talk to me?" Usually when Kisa came over, it was to do something with Tohru. He wondered what she would want to talk to him about. Yuki followed Tohru down the stairs, to the family room. 

"Hello Kisa-chan. Did you want to talk to me?" He asked gently. 

Kisa looked up at him nervously. "I was wondering if you could help me with something." 

"Of course. I would be happy to help." He smiled kindly at her. Kisa looked down at the box in her arms, and then hesitantly handed it to Yuki. Yuki gently took it from her, a little confused as to what she wanted. As he brought it closer to his face, he could make out tiny noises coming from it, like squeaks and panting. He stared at the box for a couple seconds before carefully lifting the lid. He heard Tohru gasp behind him. 

Inside, nestled in bedding and strips of cloth, was a little brown and white colored rat. It was lying on it's side, it's little chest heaving as it took gasping breaths. Yuki hesitantly reached his finger inside the box and stroked the top of it's head. It weakly lifted it's head to look at him, which seemed to be too much for it because it quickly dropped it back down. He handed the box to Tohru and gently removed the rat, nestling it against his chest. It's body felt very cold and as he ran his fingers along it's back, he could feel it's spine just under it's skin. His heart constricted as he realized why Kisa had brought it to him. 

It was dying. 

He continued petting it as he turned to Kisa. "What's it's name?" 

"Her name is Rika." Kisa answered quietly. "She's our classroom pet." 

"Do you know what's wrong with her?" He asked. Tohru came up beside him and began to lightly scratch behind it's ears. 

"The veterinarian said that she has a respiratory disease. He said that lots of rats get it and there is no way to cure it." Kisa sniffled a bit. "I felt so sad for her, so I told the teacher that I knew someone who could help her." 

Yuki looked at her sadly. "Oh Kisa, I don't know how to cure her." 

"I know." She said softly. "I know that she's going to die. But could you please help her. I don't want her to be alone." 

Yuki understood then what she meant. She wanted him to be there with Rika, and comfort her in her last hours. He looked back down at the small animal in his hands as she struggled to breath, her eyes wide in fear. He thought about every time he had a serious asthma attack and how scary it was not knowing if your ever going to breathe air again. His heart went out to the little creature and he knew that he had to do whatever possible to help. "Tohru-chan, could you grab that pillow over there please." 

Tohru wiped at her eyes a bit and nodded, running over to retrieve the pillow. Yuki gently handed the rat to Kisa. "I'll do my best." He told her, and she smiled brightly at him, happiness shining in her tear filled eyes. Tohru handed him the pillow and he set it on the floor next to their feet. 

"Could I get you to help me Tohru-chan?" He asked as he stepped closer to her and held out his arms. She nodded and silently walked into his embrace. He wrapped his arms around her, and with a cloud of smoke, his clothes fell to the floor and Yuki sat before them in his rat form. "Okay, now go sit against that wall and hold the pillow." He instructed softly. Tohru did as he asked, and he crawled up to the pillow and leaned against her chest. "This way I don't transform." He informed her. She nodded and smiled, more than a little impressed with Yuki's smart thinking. Kisa understood what was happening and carefully set the little rat next to Yuki. "Thank you Kisa." He replied. 

Tohru and Kisa went silent as they watched Yuki nuzzle up against the dying rat, then burrow under her so that her head rested on his side. Tohru could faintly hear a chattering noise, and guessed that it was coming from Yuki. She wondered if he was talking to Rika, or just making comforting noises. Either way, she noticed that the rat's breathing became a little less erratic and it's body relaxed a bit. She felt a burning behind her eyes and before she knew it, tears were rolling down her cheeks. It was such a sad thing to watch, but very comforting at the same time. 

It made her so happy to know that the poor animal didn't have to suffer alone. 

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When Tohru woke up a while later, she was surprised to find that she wasn't sitting against the wall anymore, but instead sleeping against the table with blanket wrapped around her shoulders. She sat up, groggily wiping the sleep from her eyes. She looked next to her to see Yuki sitting there, his chin resting on his hand, seemingly lost in thought. 

"How long have I been asleep?" She asked quietly. 

He turned to her, just realizing that she had woken up. "Not long, maybe an hour and a half." He replied. "Were you comfortable enough?" 

"Yes, thank you. You didn't have to bother moving me though." 

He smiled gently at her. "It wasn't a problem at all." 

She looked around the room. "Where's Kisa?" 

"I carried her up to your room. I called her mother to let her know that she was staying the night." 

She remembered what Kisa was there for in the first place and she felt her heart drop a bit. "When did it happen?" She asked. 

The smile left Yuki's face and he sighed. "Not long after you fell asleep." Tohru took his hand and entwined her fingers with his in a comforting gesture. "She was so afraid and didn't understand what was happening to her. It made her feel a bit less frightened to have someone there with her though. 

"So you talked to her?" Tohru asked. It was still amazing to think that Yuki could actually talk to other rats. She thought back to that noises she had heard him make earlier. 

"Yeah," he replied. "she was a bit wary of me at first, but I talked to her for a while. I told her that she would be fine, that she wouldn't suffer much longer." Yuki's voice broke a bit then, and he had to take a deep breath before continuing. "She told me that I reminded her of one of her cage mates and that she was very happy that I was with her." Yuki stopped when he heard Tohru sniffle, and reached out to wipe the tears off her cheeks. 

Tohru hadn't even realized that she had started crying again. The whole situation was just so emotional and seeing Yuki getting upset made it even worse. She had always felt others' emotions so clearly, especially his. 

"I guess I never really thought about it, even when I was in my rat form." He murmured. "We're so different from them, but that doesn't mean that they don't feel things the same way that we do. Every creature feels pain and fear, no matter how small." 

Tohru carefully wrapped her arm around his neck and rested her head on his shoulder, and he placed his head against hers. It wasn't quite an embrace, but it was as close as they could get. He shuttered and she felt a drop of moisture fall on her cheek. She brought her hand up to gently stroke his hair. 

"You did such an amazing thing tonight, Yuki." She whispered. "Because of what you did, she found some peace from her suffering. That was the greatest gift you could give her." 

~The End~  
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So, what do you think? 

Just to be clear, Yuki and Tohru are together in this fic. I was going to write something about how they came to be a couple, but then I got the inspiration to write this and couldn't wait to post it. So I hope you like it! 

~Souken~ 


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